11. SMU Mustangs - (0-6 / 0-2 in AAC) - LOST to CINCINNATI
Easy one. SMU is without a head coach with no light at the end of the tunnel. They have no hope for this season. I just wish they were on our schedule. Next.
10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-6 / 1-2 in AAC) - LOST to USF
Tulsa is in a death spiral. Coach Blankenship's program gave up a commanding lead at home to lose to a struggling USF Bulls squad with 17 points allowed in the fourth quarter alone. Yikes. I wish we had that first game back, but so it goes.
9. UConn Huskies (1-5 / 0-3 in AAC) - No Action
UConn had a weak to recover from a road loss to our Tulane Green Wave. Until they find a way to compete even against the bottom tier of our conference, UConn will remain in the doghouse.
8. Tulane Green Wave (2-5 / 1-2 in AAC) - LOST to UCF
Yargh. Tulane had a real chance to start a run when our defense held UCF to 20 points, but a struggling offense was not able to produce a tying score. Still, they have a bit more upside than those bottom three teams and a few appealing upset matchups on the docket. First up: a home battle with the Cincinnati Bearcats after a week to prepare. Let's roll.
7. South Florida Bulls (3-4 / 2-1 in AAC) - WIN against TULSA
Well, the USF managed to earn a winning record in the conference with a huge comeback against Tulsa. Don't get me wrong. The Golden Hurricane is not a strong team, but for the time being, USF has put itself in the middle of the conference.
6. Memphis Tigers (3-3 / 1-1 in AAC) - No Action
I've been a fan of Memphis all season, but a home loss to Houston kills the momentum they built from a smackdown at Cincinnati. They have a favorable stretch of SMU, Tulsa, and Temple as their next three games. They will need to win all three to put themselves back into the conversation as a contender for the conference.
5. Temple Owls (4-2 / 2-1 in AAC) - LOST to HOUSTON
Owls, Owls, Owls. One of the feel good stories of 2014. A 4-1 start was a great thing for a program that was once straight-up disowned by the Big East (the old Big East, that is). But still, a 31-10 beating at the hands of the Houston Cougars won't cut it. Were wins against Delaware State, Vanderbilt, UConn, and Tulsa great tests, or are we about to see some serious regression? Let's watch.
4. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-3 / 1-1 in AAC) - WIN against SMU
The good news? The Bearcats are now coming off of a 41-3 shellacking of a conference opponent. The bad news? They had a three game losing streak coming into that win. I do not believe Cinci is a serious contender to win this conference at this stage, but they are still very dangerous behind QB Gunner Kiel.
3. Houston Cougars (4-3 / 2-1 in AAC) - WIN against TEMPLE
Houston just took care of business in back-to-back week by silencing plucky newcomers Memphis and Temple with nice wins. They do have a loss to UCF on their record, but still, they have USF, Tulane, and Tulsa as their next three matchups. Houston controls its own fate if it wants to put itself in the mix, as they do not play ECU.
2. UCF Knights (4-2 / 2-0 in AAC) - WIN against TULANE
UCF did not look like a great team against Tulane. In fact, the offensive line looked like a much bigger problem than the absence of big-time QB Blake Bortles. That being said, they are playing at another level than the rest of the teams, and I would say they are the only real viable threat to ECU's run here.
1. East Carolina Pirates (5-1 / 2-0 in AAC) - No Action
East Carolina did not have a game this week, but they are up to #18 in the rankings and expect them to keep rising with UConn and Temple as their next two games.
That's it for now. Hit me on Twitter @fearthewaveblog or leave your comments.
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